The invention relates to the field of hydro-power engineering, particularly to construction of low-pressure river or wave power installations capable to convert renewable energy of the river flow or water waves.
There is known a hydro-turbine installation comprising two turbines disposed horizontally and coaxially to each other and mounted in a water passage, and an electro-generator (see Inventor Certificate SU No 1280178 issued Dec. 30, 1986).
In the given power installation, the turbines include coaxial shafts that are oriented along the water passage and connected by a gear capable to multiply the speed of rotation. The gear is located in a hermetic capsule in the center of the water passage, and is coupled with a vertical shaft of the electro-generator mounted outside of the water passage. However, such design results in low efficiency of energy conversion of the water stream passing through a cross-section of the water passage. It is caused by the fact that the turbines, in this case of a propeller type, operate sequentially, taking turns, depending on a direction of the stream, and that the capsule with the gear in part overlaps the work water flow directed along the shafts of turbines.
The closest prior art to the present invention in terms of its structure and achievable result is a power installation, comprising two orthogonal turbines having blades of a hydro-dynamic profile, which turbines are horizontally and coaxially mounted in a convergent-divergent water passage, and an electric generator. The turbines are made orthogonal and cross-jet, their shafts are oriented across the water passage of the installation; one the end of each shaft of the turbines is fixed in the wall of the water passage; the electro-generator is located between the orthogonal turbines, kinematically connected to the shafts and located in a hermetic cavity (see Patent RU No 22216644, issued Nov. 20, 2003).
However the design of the aforesaid power installation represents, in essence, a stationary power installation, which can be floatably delivered to the place of exploitation with the subsequent attachment to the bottom of the water reservoir, for example, in a coastal zone of sea or ocean, or on the bottom of a river, and then operate in a stationary mode. This circumstance narrows the scope of its use. Besides, the design of electro-generator with the through shaft, connecting the shafts of orthogonal turbines, does not allow efficient conversion of energy of the water stream into electric power.